Tag: ritual

What is the Meaning of the Full Moon?

The full Moon marks a time for completion: of coming to terms with what has been ‘grown’ since the new Moon, and taking stock of your bounty. It also acts as an energetic spotlight, literally shining a light on things that need to come to your attention.

It’s thought that the effect of full moon is more noticeable on the physical body whereas the new Moon’s effect is more evident on the mind. Many find that their physical balance is more unstable on full Moon days, making practise of asanas that require great balance, quite a challenge.

Journal Prompts for Moon Phases

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What Does The Full Moon Mean For Your Zodiac Sign?

Every new Moon is different, because of where the Moon is in relation to you and the heavens. This gives you the chance to work with the energies of each different Zodiac sign as the Moon passes through. (It does so quickly too: moving through one sign approximately every 2.5 days.)

Even if you you don’t have any planets in the sign the Moon is passing through, you can still look at your chart to see what House that sign rules in your chart. We all have elements of the entire Zodiac in our make-up, with some more emphasised than others. Noting what part of your chart the Moon is passing through is helpful in determining what energies you can focus on for that full Moon phase.

What’s The Best Way To Honour The Full Moon?

1) Check out your birth chart

As I mentioned, the full Moon will be moving through a certain part of the sky, a Zodiac sign (like Aries, Cancer and so on) so it’s worth having a look at your own birth (or ‘natal’) chart to see what’s happening in that Zodiac sign of your chart.

Are there any planets in that sign? What house is that sign in? Where are the planets that rule that sign in your chart?

If this is sounding a bit complicated, feel free to book in a chat with me to discuss your birth chart in greater depth.

2) Review your intentions

Working with the cycle of the Moon each month, you can use the new Moon to ‘plant’ your intentions, and revisit them at the full Moon to observe how they have come to fruition.

This isn’t test: you aren’t being judged on how well you ‘manifested’ during the cycle. This is about noting where you’re at, how you feel and what opportunities you have been given.

You can take this time to ask yourself (and ideally write down or make art) about what’s changed in your life since the new Moon, or the last full Moon. Is there anything you have learned? Anything that surprised you? The more you take note of these subtle shifts, the more adept you’ll be at paying attention to your needs, emotionally, mentally, physically and spiritually.

3) Practise Yin Yoga

In the Astanga yoga tradition, yoga (the physical asana portion) isn’t practised on ‘Moon Days’ – that is, the full Moon and the new Moon.

So whilst I don’t recommend a vigorous practise, I don’t see any harm in a gentle, restorative or Yin Yoga flow that assists you tuning in with the sky above, and helps you process the fruits that the past Moon cycle has brought you and integrate what you’ve learned.

Here’s a sequence you might find helpful on the new Moon:

Forward Fold (Uttanasana)

Stand with feet hip-width apart and knees soft. Exhale as you slowly bow forward, hinging at the hips, bringing your hands towards the ground. Keep the knees bent to be gentle on the legs and allow the spine to be long.

Stay here for approx. 2 minutes.

Garland Pose (Malasana)

From forward fold, bend your knees a bit more, and heel-toe the feet out until they’re mat-width apart, with the toes pointing out at 45 degrees. Drop your hips down as you continue to bend the knees.

Inhale lengthen up through your crown. Exhale, lean your torso forward and fit it snugly between your thighs. Expand your elbows into your inner knees, bringing your palms to together in prayer position (Anjali Mudra) and draw the knees into the elbows.

Stay here for approx. 2 minutes.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Taking your hands back to the floor, step your feet back carefully to all fours (table pose). Bring knees out wide and big toes to touch. Sink the hips back and actively reach the arms towards the front of your mat.

Ground down through the palms, as the tailbone releases towards the Earth. Take deep cleansing breaths in through the nose and out of the mouth for an audible exhale. Breathe into the back body.

Stay here for approx. 3 minutes.

Lunge (Anjaneyasana)

Come back to all-fours. Plant the palms firmly down and step your right foot forward, lowering the back knee to the mat. Ground firmly through both legs and draw energy up from the ground, through your hips and core, inhale to bring your hands to your front thigh, lifting your crown up.

Stay here for approx. 2 minutes.

Lizard pose

Bring both hands back to the ground, on the inside of your front foot. Turn the toes of the front foot towards the outer edge of your mat, making sure the knee is still tracking over your ankle.

If you feel comfortable here, bend your elbows and bring forearms to the mat, lowering yourself further down.

Stay here for approx. 2 minutes.

***Step back foot to all fours/table top pose, and repeat Lunge and Lizard pose on the opposite side***

Supine twist

Come to lie on your back. Bending your right knee, take it over the left leg. Extend your arms out long (you can also take your left hand to add weight onto your right thigh). Turn your head to gaze gently over your right arm. Ground your right shoulder blade to floor.

Stay here for approx. 3 minutes.

***Repeat on opposite side.***

Corpse Pose (Savasana)

Time to relax. Bring your legs out long, feet as wide as the mat. Hands by your side with palms facing up to absorb the new Moon energy. Draw your shoulder blades down your back, neck long and let the eyes close. From the crown of the head to the tips of the toes, relax. Calm the mind and explore your inner landscape. Stay here for at least 5 minutes to let the practise fully absorb.

When you come out of corpse pose, consider taking some time either seated in easy pose or on a chair, to think about what has been revealed to you this full Moon.

This would also be a wonderful time to write in your Moon Phase Journal. If you’d like further prompts and clarity, you might try the journal prompts I offer freely below.

How Is A New Moon Different From the Full Moon?

The new Moon has a more inward feel, with a void or empty quality, and therefore can feel a bit scary to those who are uncomfortable with uncertainty. Which is… probably the majority of us.

It’s very natural to feel discomfort as we face the unknown. But on the flip side, the unknown is also pure potential. How exciting is that?

You can learn to trust the dark. You can embrace the moment when the old fades away, and the new is not quite here yet here. It’s the space between the in breath… and the out breath.

For this reason, the new Moon is an incredibly powerful time for sending out your intentions, wishes and desires to the Universe, and starting a fresh.

Journal Prompts for Moon Phases

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Journal Prompts

What Does The New Moon Mean For Your Zodiac Sign?

Every new Moon is different, because of where the Moon is in relation to you and the heavens. This gives you the chance to work with the energies of each different Zodiac sign as the Moon passes through. (It does so quickly too: moving through one sign approximately every 2.5 days.)

Even if you you don’t have any planets in the sign the Moon is passing through, you can still look at your chart to see what House that sign rules in your chart. We all have elements of the entire Zodiac in our make-up, with some more emphasised than others. Noting what part of your chart the Moon is passing through is helpful in determining what energies you can focus on for that new Moon phase.

What’s The Best Way To Honour The New Moon?

1) Check out your birth chart

As I mentioned, the new Moon will be moving through a certain part of the sky, a Zodiac sign (like Aries, Cancer and so on) so it’s worth having a look at your own birth (or ‘natal’) chart to see what’s happening in that Zodiac sign of your chart.

Are there any planets in that sign? What house is that sign in? Where are the planets that rule that sign in your chart?

If this is sounding a bit complicated, feel free to book in a chat with me to discuss your birth chart in greater depth.

2) Set your intentions

Try writing down your intentions, for the period beginning at the new Moon. The act of writing down our intentions clarifies them and communicates them more strongly to our subconscious. Remember to return to your intention at the full Moon (approximately two weeks later) – the more you practise this, the more you are likely to see results in the manifested world.

You can also get visual and kinaesthetic with your new Moon intentions. On the days leading up to the new Moon, you might gather pictures and objects symbolic of your goal, creating a new Moon collage. You can do this physically, or digitally. I like to have fun with Pinterest collecting images to represent my current focus. This can then serve as a visual reminder of your dreams.

3) Practise Restorative yoga

In the Astanga yoga tradition, yoga (the physical asana portion) isn’t practised on ‘Moon Days’ – that is, the full Moon and the new Moon.

So whilst I don’t recommend a vigorous practise, I don’t see any harm in a gentle, restorative flow that assists you tuning in with the sky above, and helps bring your mind, body and soul in alignment.

Here’s a sequence you might find helpful on the new Moon:

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Begin standing tall with feet hips width distance apart. Feel the grounding energy of the Earth as the crown of the head reaches up towards the Moon. Take a few slow, deep breaths in and out through the nose as you bring your awareness inward.

Moon Salute (Chandra Namaskar)

Inhale, raising your arms up and overhead. Palms connect at the top as you gaze up towards the Moon.

Forward Fold (Uttanasana)

Exhale as you slowly bow forward, hinging at the hips, bringing your hands towards the ground.

Lunge (Anjaneyasana)

Plant the palms firmly down and step your right foot back, lowering the knee to the mat. Grounding firmly through both legs and drawing energy up from the ground, through your hips and core, inhale to lift arms up. Lengthen through the side body, gaze toward the hands.

Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Exhale as you bring your palms to the mat. Lift the back knee and step the front leg back for downward facing dog, tailbone lifts to the sky, head and heels relax down to the ground.

Table Pose (Bharmanasana)

Exhale and lower both knees to the mat. Align wrists under shoulders and knees under hips. Bring the belly button towards the spine and relax the shoulders back, away from the ears.

Cat/Cow Pose (Marjaryasana/Bitilasana)

From table pose, inhale, lifting the heart and sitting bones up, dropping the belly – cow pose. Exhale, round the spine as your tailbone and chin tuck in – cat pose. Push evenly through the palms and lower legs to create greater movement and expansion of the spine. Repeat for 3–5 cycles of breath, taking care to sync movement to breath.

Downward Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Come back to table pose and inhale, raising the knees and tailbone up to downward facing dog.

Lunge (Anjaneyasana)

Keep the hands planted as right foot steps forward between the hands. Lower left knee down to the mat and inhale to raise the arms up.

Forward Fold (Uttanasana)

Exhale palms down to frame the right foot. Bring your left foot up to meet at the top of the mat. Both toes together, head hangs heavy, lengthen through your spine.

Moon Salute (Chandra Namaskar)

Inhale, raising your arms up and overhead. Palms connect at the top as you gaze up towards the Moon.

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Exhale, bring the palms to prayer position (anjali mudra) at the heart center. Inhale here. Maybe closing your eyes. Exhale palms by your side as you return to where you began.

Optional: Flow through these poses 3-5 more times, maintaining deep inhales and exhales.

Cool Down

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Bring yourself carefully down to all fours (table pose). Bring knees out wide and big toes to touch. Sink the hips back and actively reach the arms towards the front of your mat.

Ground down through the palms, as the tailbone releases towards the Earth. Take 5–10 cleansing breaths in through the nose and out of the mouth for an audible exhale. Breath into the back body.

Gently lift back up to table pose, swing the legs out to one side and roll onto your back.

Knees-to-Chest Pose (Apanasana)

Keeping the entire spine against the mat, hug the knees in towards to chest wrapping the arms around the shins. Gently rock right and left massaging the lower back.

Happy Baby Pose (Ananda Balasana)

Bring knees wide and in towards the chest. Wrap the hands around the inside or outside of your feet, keeping both feet flexed, soles facing the sky. Open your knees slightly wider than your hips and as you kick your feet up, draw them in towards the face, creating resistance with your hands. Option to rock left to right.

Corpse Pose (Savasana)

Time to relax. Bring your legs out long, feet as wide as the mat. Hands by your side with palms facing up to absorb the new Moon energy. Draw your shoulder blades down your back, neck long and let the eyes close. From the crown of the head to the tips of the toes, relax. Calm the mind and explore your inner landscape. Stay here for at least 3 minutes to let the practise fully absorb.

When you come out of corpse pose, consider taking some time either seated in easy pose or on a chair, to think about your new Moon intention.

This would also be a wonderful time to write in your Moon Phase Journal.

First Name
Email Address
Journal Prompts

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Welcome to Yoga + Astrology! This is the place I share with you with my two great passions: Yoga and (you guessed it) Astrology. You’ll find a collection of articles, videos and online classes that will help you connect these two ancient systems in your own life.

About Yoga and Astrology

Yoga and Astrology came to exist because I couldn’t stop talking about my two esoteric loves, and my friends couldn’t bare to listen to me anymore.

Hopefully, you’re here because you share my love for Yoga and Astrology, and want to learn how to combine the two to great effect in your own lives.